Stirling Range

Home , Bluff Knoll, Porongurup National Park, Stirling Range

ongoing fox control and native animal recovery program. recovery animal native and control fox ongoing

Western Shield Western , an an , and Zoo Perth with conjunction in conducted

park. This has been possible due to a captive breeding program program breeding captive a to due possible been has This park.

thought to be extinct) have been reintroduced into areas of the the of areas into reintroduced been have extinct) be to thought

them.

Numbats (WA’s official mammal emblem) and dibblers (once (once dibblers and emblem) mammal official (WA’s Numbats

defined area, either on particular peaks or in the valleys between between valleys the in or peaks particular on either area, defined

River little bat and lesser long-eared bat. long-eared lesser and bat little River

level on acid sandy clay soil. Each species occurs in a well- well- a in occurs species Each soil. clay sandy acid on level

as it is home to a powerful ancestral being. ancestral powerful a to home is it as

echidna, tammar wallaby, western pygmy possum plus the King King the plus possum pygmy western wallaby, tammar echidna,

Mountain bells are usually found above the 300-metre contour contour 300-metre the above found usually are bells Mountain

significance to traditional Aboriginal people of the south-west south-west the of people Aboriginal traditional to significance

dunnarts, honey possum, mardo (antechinus), short-beaked short-beaked (antechinus), mardo possum, honey dunnarts,

outside Stirling Range. Stirling outside Bluff Knoll (Bular Mial) continues to be of great spiritual spiritual great of be to continues Mial) (Bular Knoll Bluff bush rat, common brushtail possum, fat-tailed and white-tailed white-tailed and fat-tailed possum, brushtail common rat, bush

have been identified in the park and only one of these is found found is these of one only and park the in identified been have Other mammals found in the range include the ash-grey mouse, mouse, ash-grey the include range the in found mammals Other

worked on farms and lived on settlements or in missions. in or settlements on lived and farms on worked

darwinias, or mountain bells. Ten species of mountain bells bells mountain of species Ten bells. mountain or darwinias,

Displaced from their traditional land, many Nyoongar people people Nyoongar many land, traditional their from Displaced

Among the most beautiful and iconic of the plants are the the are plants the of iconic and beautiful most the Among Dibbler Numbat

transported through the range to the port in Albany. in port the to range the through transported

peaks.

raising livestock. Cattle, sheep, wool and sandalwood were were sandalwood and wool sheep, Cattle, livestock. raising

‘montane’ plant community found only on the tops of the high high the of tops the on only found community plant ‘montane’

European settlers arrived and took up land, creating farms and and farms creating land, up took and arrived settlers European

woodland and wetland habitats plus a unique and threatened threatened and unique a plus habitats wetland and woodland

other animals. other The landscape displays a mosaic of thicket, mallee-heath, mallee-heath, thicket, of mosaic a displays landscape The

seeds and fruit while men hunted kangaroos, wallabies and and wallabies kangaroos, hunted men while fruit and seeds

in banksias, eucalypts, orchids and verticordias (feather flowers). (feather verticordias and orchids eucalypts, banksias, in

people. Women gathered roots, roots, gathered Women people. of food for for food of Noongar (Nyoongar) Noongar see a quenda (southern brown bandicoot) or a quokka. a or bandicoot) brown (southern quenda a see

species are found only in the range. The park is particularly rich rich particularly is park The range. the in only found are species

The lowlands surrounding the peaks were important sources sources important were peaks the surrounding lowlands The grey kangaroo and western brush wallaby. With luck, you may may you luck, With wallaby. brush western and kangaroo grey

more than 1,500 species of flowering plants to exist here. Eighty Eighty here. exist to plants flowering of species 1,500 than more

The most commonly spotted native mammals are the western western the are mammals native spotted commonly most The

occurrence. sunlight and exposure. The multitude of conditions enables enables conditions of multitude The exposure. and sunlight

‘mist moving around the mountains’ – a frequently seen seen frequently a – mountains’ the around moving ‘mist affected native fauna in the Stirling Range and across Australia. across and Range Stirling the in fauna native affected range provide countless combinations of altitude, soil, rainfall, rainfall, soil, altitude, of combinations countless provide range

and feral animals such as the cat and fox have adversely adversely have fox and cat the as such animals feral and The Aboriginal name for the range, Koi Kyenunu-ruff, means means Kyenunu-ruff, Koi range, the for name Aboriginal The moist gullies, windswept lowlands and protected crevices of the the of crevices protected and lowlands windswept gullies, moist

been found in recent years. Land clearing, frequent wild fires fires wild frequent clearing, Land years. recent in found been The cloud-touched peaks, sheltered valleys, exposed rock faces, faces, rock exposed valleys, sheltered peaks, cloud-touched The

Cultural significance Cultural

by early European collectors. Only half of these species have have species these of half Only collectors. European early by

Flora

Thirty-nine species of mammals were identified in the region region the in identified were mammals of species Thirty-nine

of the few places in WA where snow occasionally falls. occasionally snow where WA in places few the of

snakes, dugites and death adders are present but rarely seen. rarely but present are adders death and dugites snakes,

to drop and rain, fog or hail to set in. The Stirling Range is one one is Range Stirling The in. set to hail or fog rain, and drop to added to the National Heritage List. Heritage National the to added

refuges between the peaks. Venomous snakes such as tiger tiger as such snakes Venomous peaks. the between refuges

all seasons. Sudden cold changes may cause the temperature temperature the cause may changes cold Sudden seasons. all 2006 when, in recognition of its outstanding biodiversity, it was was it biodiversity, outstanding its of recognition in when, 2006

species of spiders, snails and earthworms survive in cool moist moist cool in survive earthworms and snails spiders, of species

Visitors should come prepared for changes in weather during during weather in changes for prepared come should Visitors Stirling Range received Australia’s highest heritage honour in in honour heritage highest Australia’s received Range Stirling

Reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates are plentiful. Ancient Ancient plentiful. are invertebrates and amphibians Reptiles,

can also offer beautiful crisp sunny days. sunny crisp beautiful offer also can

the world’s top 34 hotspots for biodiversity. biodiversity. for hotspots 34 top world’s the wren, wedge-tailed eagle and western spinebill. western and eagle wedge-tailed wren,

at their peak. Winter (June-August) is often cold and wet but but wet and cold often is (June-August) Winter peak. their at Australia, a region that is recognised internationally as one of of one as internationally recognised is that region a Australia, the western rosella, red-capped parrot, golden whistler, splendid splendid whistler, golden parrot, red-capped rosella, western the

December) when the days become warmer and wildflowers are are wildflowers and warmer become days the when December) Stirling Range is a species-rich area within south-western south-western within area species-rich a is Range Stirling Nearly 150 bird species have been sighted in the park including including park the in sighted been have species bird 150 Nearly

An ideal time to visit is late spring and early summer (October- summer early and spring late is visit to time ideal An

Biodiversity Fauna

southern half of Western Australia – the 1,095-metre Bluff Knoll. Knoll. Bluff 1,095-metre the – Australia Western of half southern

in bloom. The range is also home to the highest peak in the the in peak highest the to home also is range The bloom. in

Common mountain bell mountain Common bell mountain Yellow Cranbrook bell Cranbrook what time of year you arrive, there will always be some plants plants some be always will there arrive, you year of time what

and abundant, vibrantly coloured flowering plants. No matter matter No plants. flowering coloured vibrantly abundant, and

and is characterised by stark cliff faces, magnificent views views magnificent faces, cliff stark by characterised is and

The range stretches east-west for more than 65 kilometres kilometres 65 than more for east-west stretches range The

of lowlands, most of which has been cleared for agriculture. agriculture. for cleared been has which of most lowlands, of

Stirling Range abruptly rise from a surrounding landscape landscape surrounding a from rise abruptly Range Stirling

About 80 kilometres north of Albany, the rugged peaks of the the of peaks rugged the Albany, of north kilometres 80 About Stirling Range National Park National Range Stirling

Stirling Range National Park

Geology Plan ahead and prepare More than 1,000 million years ago, a shallow sea covered the Your safety in natural areas is our area. Minerals, soil, sand and the bones of tiny sea creatures concern but your responsibility. slowly drifted down through the water to form layer upon Please heed warnings shown on layer of sediment. signs that display this symbol. DANGER After the sea receded, over aeons of geological time, the layers of sediment were transformed into layers of rock by the • Carry plenty of drinking water – two to three litres per person for half-day to full-day walks. pressure created from their own weight. Ripple marks can still be seen on exposed rock layers on the peaks. • Wear sun protection, boots or sturdy footwear, and clothing that is weatherproof and scratchproof. Massive forces created by the slow grinding of the Australian • Be prepared for sudden changes in the weather. continent against other continents eventually caused the rocks • Sloping, rough and uneven surfaces exist throughout the park. to buckle and rise. Chester Pass and Red Gum Pass show the Take extra care near rock edges as they can crumble without course of rivers that flowed south during the early stages of warning or be very slippery. the range’s formation. • Protect habitat and wildlife by leaving rocks and plants The weathering forces of wind, rain, heat and cold steadily undisturbed. Do not bring pets into the park. worked to erode the range into the jagged shape you see today. • No camping or cooking fires are allowed in the park. • Bins are not provided so please take your rubbish out with you, Fire including food scraps and toilet paper. Make sure toilet waste is buried to 15 centimetres deep. The Stirling Range, like much of Australia, is a fire-prone • Fox baits are spread throughout the park four times a year by environment. Fire is a natural force that helped to forge the hand and aircraft drop. These poisonous baits are small chunks continent’s remarkable biodiversity. However, too frequent intense of dried meat or pink sausages that should not be handled. large-scale wildfires can destroy habitat and whole ecosystems. Plants and animals respond differently to fire; some recover For more information quickly, others take decades. Plant species with woody seed DEC officers are always willing to help. Don’t hesitate to contact them. capsules, like hakea and banksia, rely on fire to release seeds Stirling Range National Park and stimulate new growth. RMB 557 Fire management is necessary in the Stirling Range to Chester Pass Road, Borden WA 6338 conserve biodiversity and reduce the risk of wildfire. The goal Ph (08) 9827 9230 or (08) 9827 9278 of prescriptive burning is to create a mosaic of vegetation of Information and recreational guide differing post-fire ages. South Coast Regional Office DEC State Operational E R N V M E Headquarters O N 120 Albany Highway G T E O H F Lightning strikes are the cause of most fires in the park. When Albany WA 6330 17 Dick Perry Avenue T